金融時報：AI這么強了，還需要學外語嗎？｜翻譯

（來源：宇婷學姐iris）

原文題目：Lost in translation

Even in the language app era there are benefits to learning a foreign tongue

即便在語言應用盛行的時代，學習外語仍有其價值

1.Parlez-vous fran?ais? No, but my AI can. Is this the end for foreign language learning? England’s school-leaving A-level exam results this week included a 1.5 per cent yearly drop in entries for modern foreign languages, with sharp falls in French and German, extending a long downward trend. Student and teacher numbers have dwindled so far that some leading UK universities are looking at merging their language courses.

“您會說法語嗎？”——“不會，但我的AI會。” 這是不是意味著外語學習的終結？英國 A-level 畢業考試的結果顯示，現代外語報考人數同比下降了 1.5%，其中法語和德語跌幅尤為明顯，延續了長期的下降趨勢。學生和教師的數量減少得如此之多，以至于一些英國知名大學正考慮合并語言課程。

2.Britons, like Americans, have long been linguistic laggards, sheltering behind English’s status as the global language of business and popular culture. Internationally, demand to learn English, and expanding languages such as Mandarin, remains robust. Even so, young people may question the need when translation apps can do the job. Une grosse erreur!

宇婷讀者群——AI時代如何高效學習寫作

（如果二維碼過期，加主理人：bimpact_hangzhou）

英國人和美國人長期以來都是“語言上的落后者”，仗著英語在全球商業和流行文化中的主導地位而心安理得。但在國際上，學習英語，以及像中文這樣正在崛起的語言的需求依然旺盛。即便如此，面對功能強大的翻譯軟件，年輕人還是會質疑：學習外語還有必要嗎？——答案是：大錯特錯！

3.In England, the language downturn in schools accelerated after the Blair government in 2004 ill-advisedly stopped requiring students to study a foreign language for exams at 16. An understandable push in maths, technology and science subjects has led to spin-off declines in some other humanities, too.

在英國，學校語言學習下滑在2004年布萊爾政府的一項失策的做法后加速，當時政府取消了16歲學生必須學習一門外語并參加考試的規定。此舉雖有助于推動理工科，但也帶來的其他人文學科的衰退。

4.Yet beyond UK schools the picture is more positive. Adult language classes report healthy demand; 2023 polling for the British Academy found 71 per cent of Britons would support making language study compulsory in schools. Across the EU, nearly half of all pupils in upper secondary education learn two or more foreign languages.

不過，把目光放到英國學校之外，情況要樂觀一些。成人語言課程的需求很健康；2023年一項為英國學會而做的民調顯示，71%的英國人支持讓語言學習成為學校的必修內容。在歐盟國家，近一半的高中生同時學習兩門或以上外語。

5.Apps and AI do open exciting possibilities in teaching languages, communication, and enabling people instantly to read other tongues. AI translation could be a particular asset for multinational conferences and organisations. The EU has to translate all legislation into 24 official languages, with armies of translators overseen by fact-checking lawyer-linguists. At EU meetings, the 24 languages create 552 possible translating pairs (Estonian into Maltese, anyone?). AI might interpret obscure combinations directly.

應用軟件和AI的確帶來了令人興奮的新可能：不僅在語言教學和交流方面，還能讓人們即時閱讀其他語言。AI翻譯尤其適用于跨國會議和國際組織。比如歐盟，所有法律文本都必須被翻譯成24種官方語言，需要龐大的翻譯團隊和律師語言學家監督事實核查。在歐盟會議上，24種語言之間會產生552種可能的翻譯組合（比如從愛沙尼亞語直譯成馬耳他語）。未來AI或許能直接處理這些冷門組合。

And AI translations of legal, medical and scientific texts will surely continue to require human fact-checking.

不過，除了AI會出現“幻覺”的毛病外，在處理成語俚語、幽默和語調等細微差別時，它也往往力不從心。法律、醫學、科研文本的翻譯，也必然還需要人工把關。

positive for brain development and cognitive skills — improving memory and problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity.

學習外語本身還有明顯的好處。研究表明，兒童時期學習外語有助于大腦發育和認知能力提升——能改善記憶力、解決問題的能力、批判性思維和創造力。長期的雙語使用甚至能建立所謂的“認知儲備”，或許有助于推遲阿爾茨海默癥等疾病的發作。

Speaking other languages can also be a superpower in business, politics and other fields.

說外語在商業、政治和其他領域簡直就是一種“超能力”。它能打動聽眾，讓會議更高效。

9.While art and music can be enjoyed by everyone, purists argue that the beauty of the literature of Proust or Goethe, or the poetry of Pushkin, can only be truly appreciated in the original. Translating all the subtleties between European and non-European tongues, which often function very differently, can be even harder.

雖然藝術和音樂人人都能欣賞，但“純粹主義者”會堅持認為，普魯斯特或歌德的文學之美、普希金的詩歌之妙，唯有在原文中才能真正體會。尤其是歐洲語言與非歐洲語言差異巨大，翻譯其間所有微妙之處更是難上加難。

10.Knowing how their languages work is a window, too, into understanding other cultures, and a gateway to area studies programmes, also declining in the UK. Sophisticated computers can become linguistic experts. But if fewer people acquire these skills, the world risks becoming a less connected place — just when it needs it most.

知曉他人語言運作方式是讓人了解不同文化的窗口，是進入區域研究的重要途徑，而英國的這類學科也在下滑。現今電腦固然能成為語言專家，但如果學語言的人越來越少，世界反而可能變得更缺乏聯結——偏偏此刻，全球最需要的正是交流與理解。